Fans Are Upset That Jay-Z Has Deleted His Instagram Account Just One Day After Joining the App

Most musicians dream of the day that their comings and goings on social media will break the internet. Sure, Beyoncé is no stranger to stopping the world with her pregnancy announcements, but only a few public figures have that kind of star power. And it comes as no surprise that her hubby Jay-Z does too.

Jay-Z — born Shawn Carter — is considered by hip-hop lovers to be one of the genre’s living legends. From his beloved debut album "Reasonable Doubt" in 1996 to his growth as an entrepreneur throughout several industries, Jay-Z is the man. So, when he makes a move, everyone pays attention. Recently, Jay-Z shocked fans by joining Instagram and then leaving the app just one day later. So, what gives? Here’s the 4-1-1.

On Nov. 3, 2021, Jay-Z gave Instagram users the ultimate surprise by joining the app. Per HITC, Hov joined the app with the handle @jayz.

In a few hours, the entrepreneur gained 1.9 million followers. He made it a point to follow his equally famous spouse, Queen Bey, and also shared a post of Netflix’s new western film, The Harder They Fall, a movie that he produced.

However, fans got the shock of their life when they logged onto Instagram on the morning of Nov. 4, 2021, only to find that Jay-Z’s account was gone. That’s right, Hov has bid us all farewell on social media, and fans have lost it.

The funny thing about this situation is that history really does repeat itself. In case you’ve been out of the loop, this is not the first time Jay-Z has had an Instagram account. Per the New York Daily News, Jay-Z first graced the app on Aug. 20, 2015.

And just like his recent stint on the app, the account shared only one post, a slideshow montage of the rapper with the late Michael Jackson to celebrate what would have been the pop icon’s 57th birthday.

"Happy Birthday to the King! This may be my first and last post," Jay-Z captioned the photo.

Unfortunately, Jay deleted his unverified account 24 hours later. While there has been some chatter about the validity of the account, the outlet shares that Jay’s longtime friend and musical executive, Michael Kyser, shared a photo of the MC that showed him appearing to gaze down at the opened Instagram app on his phone. So, fans took that to mean that the account was authentic.

Now that Jay-Z is off of Instagram, fans have been sharing theories about why he suddenly left the app. While some people believe he simply wanted to cause a stir, others are convinced that he rejoined Instagram for the sake of promotion.

As we mentioned, Jay-Z serves as a co-producer on the new Netflix film The Harder They Fall. The film focuses on an outlaw, Nat Love (portrayed by Jonathan Majors), and his gang looking to settle a score with his enemy Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), a ruthless crime boss who was just released from prison.

Aside from Jonathan and Idris, the film features an all-black ensemble cast that includes LaKeith Stanfield, Regina King, Zazie Beetz, Edi Gathegi, R.J. Cyler, Delroy Lindo, Danielle Deadwyler, Deon Cole, and Damon Wayans Jr.

In an October 2021 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Jay-Z shared how important it is to showcase Black representation in films and spread knowledge of Black history.

"I love to be a part of projects that widen the lens," Jay-Z told the outlet. "Once it's widened for us, it's widened for Asians. For Mexicans. For everyone."

He went on to explain that there were many Black cowboys in the Wild West, but Hollywood has whitewashed characters when telling Western stories.

"[For years], one of the only things on public television was Westerns, every week, and we weren't represented in those at all," Jay-Z said. "In fact, our characters were taken from us. The Lone Ranger was based on one of the characters from this film."

The idea of Jay-Z needing extra promotion for his new project seems amusing, but there is no such thing as too much marketing. Hopefully, Hov will someday return to the app for a longer period of time.